ISBN: 9781483539317

Abby lives in the small town she grew up in, in Northern New Hampshire. She was a single mom who feels jolted by her ex for leaving her young, pregnant and alone in college. Abby has taken the low road and not let him see his son and done it all on her own. One day she wakes up oblivious to how her life is about to change with one small chance meeting of a stranger who she thought was new to town her life was about to change forever. The unexpected lesson she gets before she even knows his story that will change the road she takes with her ex and teaches her how to understand there are always two sides to every situation. As the meetings become more and more so do the meetings with his ex-wife, who is known as the town Bully. She is hard on Abby and follows her ex everywhere he goes. Abby learns that one chance meeting can change her life forever for the good and the bad.

For those in my life who teach me lesson each and every day on how to love, be happy and enjoy the time we have with those we love when we can. For those ones that hear a different story, here’s a slight hope you may want to hear the next chapter in the story.

This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblence to actual persons is not done with intention.

Chapter 1

I hit snooze again, it may have been the third time that I had I lost count after the first hit. That is because Monday mornings and I do not get along very well and let’s be honest I am just not a morning person in general. The thought went through my mind over and over as I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head and stretched. This next two weeks or so were going to change my life forever for the good and the bad, I just didn’t realize it yet. I had no idea what was about to turn my life upside down, sideways and backwards. It is crazy how things can change in an instant and make you realize what you had wasn’t as good as what you thought or that it was exactly what you needed whatever the case may be. Either way what I was about to have happen to me happens to lots of people, I just feel that my story is a great story to tell, a lesson really for everyone. A few minutes later I groaned and got out of bed, took a quick shower got dressed then went to get my son Ricky up and dressed. About an hour later we headed out the door to start our day, Ricky to daycare and me off to work. As we got into the car I shuttered at the coldness it looked like a snow shower was coming I was glad to have a garage that kept my car somewhat warm but this morning it still felt cold as we backed out of the driveway. March in this area could be rain or snow, it was really cold out but I don’t think cold enough for a full on snow storm. I paused right outside the driveway and I looked back at the house, looked at Ricky, realizing I hadn’t fed him breakfast in my rush to get him out of bed. He was not a morning child; he made it hard to get out of the house on time each day, at 3 years old it is obvious he is going to be just like me and need his coffee to start the day. I decided against going back in to get food for him and instead headed towards The Coffee shop to feed Ricky and get an extra-large coffee for myself. They knew me so well in The Coffee shop, that they would have my coffee and muffin and his bagel and milk ready when they would see us pulling in to the parking lot. They always got me in and out fast mainly because they knew I was always in a rush when I came there and that I was there because we were running late. As we walked in to the daycare, Ricky ran ahead of me with his bagel and milk and went to his table to eat his breakfast as I slowly followed behind with his bag. "Another late start?" his teacher Jo-Ann said with a smile to me. I nodded and rolled my eyes; I gave Ricky a kiss and headed off to work. As I parked in my spot at the Water Company just a few minutes away from the daycare, I sat for a minute still trying to snap out of the sleepy state, rubbing my eyes and stretching before I got out of the car. I unlocked the door, turned the lights on and looked around, I could tell just by the mess on my desk that it was going to be a very long day and that one cup of coffee was not going to do. As soon as I sat down and turned the phones on they were ringing, the way I almost enjoyed it because then I never looked at the clock. It was usually people who owed us money trying to work out a payment plan, or say they were coming in at the end of the week to pay us then they would always chat with me for a few minutes about town gossip honestly most of my day was hearing the gossip rather than work, either way it made the day go by way faster. I dove right in and started the day, the first time I looked at the clock it was 11:00am. The morning had flown by, lunch time was my favorite time of day, in the spring and summer I could sit out in the back at the picnic table and look at the mountains while I ate my lunch in the winter I would sit in the break room which over looked the mountains and watch the snow fall. It was really the most quiet time and most relaxing time I had during the day. I was getting hungry so trying to figure out what I was going to eat was now at the top of my list of things to do as the phone rang and snapped my out of my thoughts. “Hi there Abby how are you today?” I heard Mr. Jasper’s friendly voice on the other end, he always made me smile. “Wonderful as always Mr. Jasper how are you?” He chuckled, “Still above ground Abby. I am calling to let you know I rented out my house and there will be a new tenant coming in to sign his name to the water. Not sure if he will come in today or tomorrow but have it affective today please. His name is Stan, nice guy. I think he will take care of my house for me.” We chatted for a few minutes and I hung up with him. I headed out to get a salad from the grocery store and stopped in to say hi to Ricky, this always makes my day seeing him at lunch time and I tried to do it at least a couple of times a week. This little boy was my world and I looked forward to seeing him any chance that I got, I wished I could be a stay at home mom but that wasn’t in the cards right now, maybe someday I could do that I thought to myself as I began going through the mail.

Tuesday started out better than Monday we were out of the house on time and Ricky was even able to eat a waffle before we left something that rarely happens. I had my coffee in hand and ready to go this time around. I dropped him off at daycare and drove to work feeling pretty good about the day so far. A few minutes after I had gotten in to work the door opened with the little bell to let me know someone was there. I looked up and saw a tall, handsome man walking in. “Can I help you?" I said as I looked up from the computer, he paused as he looked at me, smiled and replied, "I think so, I just moved into a new house and I need to sign my name on the water and take my landlord's off can I do that here?" I nodded as he sat down at the chair next to my desk and I got the paperwork out of the drawer. "Of course I can help you with that, I will just need you to fill out the highlighted sections on this sheet and sign the second one for me." I handed him a clipboard and a pen with the papers to fill out. He seemed a little nervous as I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. He was tall, somewhat built and had dark hair with dark brown eyes. I didn't recognize him and I pretty much thought I knew everyone in town so I thought that he must be an intern coming in for the summer at the Forest Ranger’s. They did this every summer to train college students, but he seemed a little bit older than college. He smiled as he handed back the paperwork, I looked down "Oh Mr. Jasper’s new tenant, he called me yesterday to tell me he had rented the house and you would be coming in. That is a nice house, are you new to town?" He looked up at me a little surprised, "No, I have lived here for about 3 years; you may know my wife well ex-wife now, her name is Jenny Schmidt-Taylor?" A slight chill ran up my back, all the blood drained from my face and the sun hid behind a cloud just at that exact second and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees in the room, oh god did I know her, she was well known throughout town, as shall we say a witch? No I thought to myself a bitch. There was not one nice thing that anyone in town could say about her, even as a kid she was horrible. She was such a bully in school, unfortunately I knew her well, and I could see why they are exes. Unless he was just like her which was a possibility, but he didn’t seem nearly has mean as her as far as I could tell. A first impression is usually right and when you first met Jenny you knew she was mean and crazy, him on the other hand seemed opposite of Jenny. "Oh yes that name does sound familiar, well, it’s nice to meet you Stan." I said as I looked down, trying to hide my true feelings about his ex-wife, I am not so sure that it worked, I could tell by the way he looked at me he knew exactly how I felt about her. Stan looked at her expression and knew that she felt the same way the rest of the town felt about her, she hated her. That woman left such a path of destruction and hate wherever she went he had never realized one person could have that much negative energy. He wondered what Jenny had done to her as she smiled at him, "Well, you will receive the first bill next month and will be charged for today going forward so it should be for about 33 days. We bill in quarters, so we are almost over with this quarter. You can pay here, online or mail a check whichever is easier for you. Seeing that this is a landlord/tenant situation we ask that if something was to go wrong, please have Mr. Jasper call us, since he owns the property, I wouldn’t expect a problem but just in case." I handed him a business card. “This has the website on it if you want to pay online and the address if you want to mail it.” He looked down at it, he seemed very shy as he smiled and said thank you. Just before the door closed he turned around, "I just want you to know I am nothing like Jen", I nodded, “There is no one like her.” he chuckled slightly maybe out of embarrassment or politeness I am not sure which. I smiled as he walked out towards his car. Glad to hear he was nothing like her; she was a flat out bitch. As Stan walked out thinking how amazing it was that she didn’t have any friends which he knew when he married her but he really didn’t think too much about it, everyone is different from child hood to college. Guess he should have taken that as a hint, he thought now looking back at all the mistakes he made mistakes that would now haunt him forever. He got into his car and headed back to the house to unpack; he was feeling pretty good about leaving her and moving on from her constant bitterness, he still had a lot to work through she had changed him that was for sure but he felt good about it at the moment. It took him a while to get away from her but he finally did it with the help of his sister Jamie, she pushed him to leave her, she saw the damage she was doing to him, she saw who he was becoming and how he had lost his true self. He was happy to have her to help him move he thought as he saw her in the window hanging up pictures as he pulled into the driveway. He owed her a good dinner he thought to himself he was going to take her to Belisi’s tonight. What he would have done without her, he wondered if he will still be with Jenny and getting beaten up because he came home late from work last night. Jamie and he always got along great and they were even closer since this had started, she would fly out to see him at the drop of a hat if he needed her. He walked in and hugged her, “Looks good.” She turned and smiled at him, “Of course it does.” She went back to hanging pictures and Stan opened another box to unpack and headed to the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want to move back and be with us?” She yelled to him. He walked back in the room and looked at her for a minute. “I miss you every day, but I can’t leave my son Jamie. I can’t let her run me out of town at least not yet. I have to stand up to her at least once before I run.” She nodded in agreement, “Yes that you do.” She smiled as she went back to hanging up the pictures. “I just don’t get why she has to hate me so much, what the hell did I ever do to her? Why does she take it all out on him? That poor kid, when I would take him places and come home to her she never asked me but she would as him all sorts of questions about what I did, did I talk to any woman, did I go see and women. He is going to hate me I know that it is just a matter of time.” She took his hand, “You just be yourself around him and don’t play into her craziness that will stick out in his head and he will realize it one day.” He nodded as he walked back into the living room rubbing his face, knowing he had lost who he was and valuable time with his son and there was nothing he could do about it.

There was something about him I liked but I don’t know what it was, he had beautiful eyes and a nice smile. I wonder what he was doing with her, she was so nasty and mean to everyone? The phone rang again and I jumped, "Hey! Want to grab lunch today?" It was my friend Becky, "Sure want to meet at The Diner in about half an hour?" The Diner was our all-time favorite spot to eat since high school, and it was called The Diner which was original I always thought, it sat right in the middle of town next to the coffee shop which was called The Coffee Shop. It didn’t bother me that I had gone there last night, I could eat there every day if I had to. It was your typical small town diner with blue and white striped walls, old white tables and chairs and booths that had ripped seats, there were old pictures on the walls of what the town used to look like, which I think the only difference is that there is color in the pictures you take now. It served breakfast and lunch and closed at 2pm sharp every day Saturday through Saturday. Breakfast there on a Saturday and Sunday was a reservation only which was something they changed after the year 1994 when the wait was over an hour and a half, the owner thought it best to avoid such a long wait, and now he was able to feed more because he had built upwards and added a second floor, no one was ever turned away but the reservations sure helped the wait time. The food was burgers, salads and breakfast, it was actually pretty good food for a small diner that had been standing since 1932. In 1953 there was a fire and the inside was redone, that fire took the owner from us and his picture was on the wall to this day with his son and his daughter running it. The waitresses that worked there had been here for years and knew everyone and everything that was going on in this town. If you lived in this town you ate here at least once a month, it was a town spot that everyone loved. The high school kids would come here for breakfast when they skipped school and the waitress would feed them quickly and make sure they went to school after they ate, they always listened to her because they are respected her like she was their grandmother. I locked the door to the office and I headed to my car, it was mid-March and there was still a chill in the air and the clouds were still there but hadn’t caused anything to happen. As I drove to The Diner, I looked around the town that I had lived in all my life, it was small, quaint and cute. The population was about 3200 but that tripled in ski season, the ski resort right on the edge of town was one of the best in the state and was booked a year in advance for most rooms, it employed almost all of the regular year round town people. I was happy here, comfortable with the small town setting, I like that I knew almost everyone and most everyone knew who I was. As I walked in Becky was already at our usual table, Betty the waitress, who has been there since before I was born already had our drinks waiting for us. "The usual girls?" She asked in her raspy smoker's voice. "Yes please" we sat down as I told her who came into my office. "Remember Jenny Schmidt she married some guy with the last name Taylor out of college?" She looked at me with a glare that told me I knew she did, we had so many stories about her. "Her husband or should I say ex-husband came into the office today to sign his name on Mr. Jasper's farmhouse. I don't think I had ever seen him before.” I sipped my Diet Coke and waited for her response. "I heard he was hot. I remember when she came back from college and was married and had a toddler; no one knew who he was or anything, but everyone felt sorry for him. We all wondered if he knew what he got himself into.” She took the lemon and squeezed it into her ice tea, “I know that he works just outside of town as a Financial Advisor. Lord knows we don't need that in this town." She rolled her eyes as she put the lemon on the table. Everyone knew everyone around here and when an outsider came there was usually gossip about them so far he had escaped gossip except for everyone feeling sorry for him. He had been well hidden. Betty overhead us and came with her inside scoop. "Well ladies here is what I know about him, he seems very nice, comes in for breakfast every morning except Saturday's. He talks a lot about his boy I think he is 6, and never mention's his ex-wife. He drives 30 minutes one way to work, but loves the small town so he stays here and he is right near his son.” She nodded her head at a couple who walked in and motioned them to sit at the counter. “She has been here bad mouthing him like there's no tomorrow, you would think he was the devil the way she talks about him. He knows it too, but he just ignores it.” She continued as she went over to the couple and poured them coffee and handed them the menus and she headed back over to our table. “She used to come in with her mother, who is just like her, not one nice thing to say about anyone talks about him something fierce, if I hadn’t met him I would be scared to meet him with the things she says about him. I think he seems awful nice, he tips well, holds the door for the ladies and when there are kids in here he is always chatting with them. Sometimes he comes in with a friend he has from college, the guy that owns Belisi, you know that fancy restaurant on Dixon Street?” she went on not giving us a chance to respond Becky and I smiled at each other, “Mostly he comes in alone. I like him; I don't see that anything she seems to say about him is true. She did say that his parents died in a plane crash, I don’t know if that is true she was going on and on about it one time and how she figured he got money, but her lawyer couldn’t find it when they went through the divorce. She said he kept saying there was no money but she didn’t believe him for whatever reason. Big surprise she was a gold digger. I heard she sold her ring for a lot of money but that is second hand information so not sure how true that is.” Betty said all that and never stopped working, I am not sure if she even took a breath the way she was rambling on. She paused and started to head over to the couple at the counter, “A few of weeks ago was the last time she was in here, Sarah overheard her and was really at her wits end with her anyway, always complaining about the food the price, the service not one nice thing to day about anyone. Sarah told her to stop complaining and to be happy that she has an ex that wants to be involved with his child, as she is trying to get her ex to see her kids even once in a while and pay some money to help her out. She then went on to say how she has met Jenny’s ex and she thinks that she is crazy for saying those things about him. Then Sarah went on to tell her that the food is fine, the service is fine and if you don’t like it don’t come in. Well Jenny told her to shut up and walked out without paying and hasn't been back since." Betty chuckled, shook her head and walked away. Can always count on her for the gossip on someone, she knew everything and everyone and if she didn’t she would find out about them. "He did seem nice, a little shy from what I could tell. When I asked if he was new to town, he looked a little surprised, he said I may know his wife well ex-wife as he said, I know without meaning too I made a face. I am sure he saw it, but he can’t be surprised that I would be a little shocked I would think. Right before he walked out the door he turned back and said 'I am nothing like Jen' kind threw me off a little all I could do was smile at him and say ‘there is no one was like her’ to him maybe I shouldn’t have but it just came out" Betty brought our food over she smiled and patted my shoulder, “You spoke the truth sweetheart, that is all you did.” She walked away clucking to herself as Becky and I laughed at her. I took a big bite of my chef salad and looked at Becky. "Even though she was 3 years older than us it always seemed she was right in front of us remember? Our freshmen year was so difficult with her there, but the rest of high school was great and everyone felt that way when she left. Funny how she left her mark so that it was almost as if she was still there even when she was gone. I can’t imagine living like she lives, she had no friends because she was so mean, ugh remember her in gym class with volleyball how she hit Sammy in the back of the head twice because she liked Sammy’s boyfriend and was so jealous?" Becky smiled as she said it, "I wonder what this nice guy was doing with her? I bet it kills her now to know that Sammy married that boy." We groaned as we thought about her, her mom was the same way and her dad well he was a drunk and only left the house to get more beer and vodka which he mixed together for the double the effect as we all used to say. He had to drink to live in the house with those two women. "I only hope that the son doesn't end up like her" Becky said, “especially since him and Ricky will be in the same school, that kid better not pick on my god-son" I just about dropped my fork and choked on my lettuce, "Oh my god,” I said as I coughed and took a sip “I didn't even realize that they were that close in age, he just started at the daycare with Ricky different room I think he is in the 6 year olds room, but I didn't put together the fact that they would be in school together really his son should be in kindergarten so maybe is there only after school. These girls that knew her in high school that are now all moms of kids Ricky’s age have been empowered since they grew up went to college and got married, I am sure no one will put up with her anymore. These were all the girls she bullied in high school, but now they have husbands that they know will back them up and they aren’t scared of anything.” I took a drink and looked at Becky, “She still scares me though, when he mentioned her name and the room got cold and the sky got dark." We rolled our eyes as we finished lunch and got our money together. I gave Betty a hug and headed out to go back to work. "Well, I am going to see what I can find out about him, now I am curious. Do dinner tomorrow night, Rob has a late meeting?" Becky asked as she got in her car. "Sure sounds good, bring the drinks, I got the food." She smiled and waved as she drove away back to work. Rob was a teacher at the high school, and he was also President of the Teacher’s Union so he ended up at a lot of late night meetings this time of year. Which I liked because that meant we got at least two dinners a week together where we could just talk, just the two of us. I loved Rob he was just like a brother to me, Becky met him in college and we have all been hanging out ever since. As I sat back down at my desk, looked around at where to start and sighed. The afternoon dragged on and on, finally 4pm came and I will say that I ran out the door as fast as I could, to get to the daycare to get Ricky. When I pulled up my jaw dropped, I pulled up just in time to see Jenny. Sitting in her car with the window down and on her cell yelling at what I am guessing is Stan on the other end. I jumped out trying to beat her in as she looked like she was going to be there for a minute on the phone. "You are such an idiot, is it that hard to meet us at the doctors?" pause and dramatic eye rolling. “Jenny, you need to calm down all I said was it would be nice if you could do a late afternoon appointment, no need to name call.” She continued louder without even hearing him, he put his head in his hands. “So what if I scheduled it during the day, as a parent we have to do things that involve our children during the day, I don't care about your working or driving it isn't about you, you Moron, if you aren’t coming at least send the co-payment to them so I don’t have to pay it. You are so frustrating and you really need to just let me handle him, you don’t need to be at the doctors with us anyway." Stan kept his voice calm “Jenny, enough do you understand me? I will not put up with you treating me like this anymore. You are not in control of me, you are not in control of Sean without me. The doctor knows that too, so you cannot make a decision without me. You have upset that doctor already so don’t drag her in anymore, do you understand me?” Her voice was getting louder as I walked quickly passed her to get inside and hopefully out before she made it inside. What were the chances? I go years without seeing her then all of a sudden I meet her ex-husband and see her at the daycare. “Do you think you can get rid of me sweetie? It won’t happen I am here until the end married or not do you understand that? No matter what I will be here. I will make your life miserable, I will make sure you will always remember the day you met me. It isn’t as if your son likes you anyway.” she sneered at him, he had his head in his hands on his desk as he remained calm with her “Jenny you were always one for the dramatic, can you just stop yelling?” She laughed in his ear. He hung up rolling his eyes as he stood up and clenched his fists, what the hell was he supposed to do to teach her to be nice, to stop her games? There wasn’t anything he could do and he knew it. He has always been nice to her, she was so hateful talking to him, and it was crazy how mean she was. Whatever did he see in her? Those few months that were ok, not even great where really the worst thing that ever happened to him except for Sean. He loved his son, he just wish he had chosen a better mom for him, Sean really did deserve better than her. He knew his son didn’t like him very much, his son was told lie after lie about him day after day. He knew that his son was confused and hurt and he had no choice but to listen and believe her because he knew his son was afraid of her too. There were times he wondered if he should just give up so that poor boy didn’t have to be put in the middle like this, he really was the one that was hurt the most. That kid at 6 years old has heard so many bad things than he should have. She has ruined his childhood and is trying to ruin a relationship with his father which every child needs. He put his head down on his desk and tried not to cry. He just wanted to scream at how she had really taken over his life even after the divorce and how she was ruining Sean’s life in the process. How can he be happy when that boy was hearing all these horrible things about him and it killed him inside. There were no words to describe how she made him feel and how she controlled him even now when they weren’t married anymore. He remembered the day the divorce was finalized at the court house his sister had come to be with him and help him through it, he walked out of the courtroom and thought he had a chance to be happy, now he wasn’t so sure as her destruction to him and to Sean continued on without an end in sight.

Ricky ran over to me and gave me a big hug; I swooped down and picked him up, thanked everyone and escaped through the side door I peeked around the side of the building and she wasn’t there so I rushed to the car to get Ricky in his seat. When we got to the car, I breathed a little sigh of relief, turned around to peek at Ricky and pulled out of the parking spot to head to the grocery store for dinner. As we walked in, I saw Becky who I had to tell who I saw at the daycare, as she rolled her eyes she grabbed Ricky for a hug. "How’s my little man?" she said as she kissed his cheek making him giggle and touch her cheeks. He loved Becky, thought she was funny and has called her 'Bebe' which she just adores. We walked through the store together; of course, Ricky talked Bebe in to getting him a cookie at the bakery as he does every time she is with us at the store. “I just find it weird that I go years without seeing her, then all of a sudden, I see him, then her all in one day. Wonder why, hope this doesn’t mean I will start seeing her more.” I sighed, Becky laughed. We walked out to the cars together and said our goodbye’s as Ricky and I headed home to cook and get ready for bed, it was going to be an early night tonight. Ricky was such a little me, he and I could both be up late and not get up in the morning. Yet, I still loved an early morning cup of coffee on the deck when it was nice out looking at the mountains and listening to the sounds of the stream in the backyard. The next morning was a little easier and we made it on time with coffee from home and Ricky eating before we left the house. Work was a little slow so I basically looked on the computer and shopped all morning, which was nice but I would rather be working that made the day go by much faster. I did get a new lunch bag for me, a new outfit and some clothes for Ricky but again, it was nothing I really needed, just bought out of boredom. Later that day Stan came back in to the office to pay Mr. Jasper’s part of the water bill, he handed me a check and smiled at me. He talked for a few minutes as he stood there talking I couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled, his cologne was amazing. When he headed out he headed across the street to the Pediatrician’s office, so I guess she won the battle about the doctor’s visit, or maybe not. Maybe she didn’t want him to come so she scheduled when he was at work and he won by showing up? She did say something about how she can handle it or something like that. I shook my head as I thought about how she was yelling on the phone at what I still assumed to be Stan, I wondered how he treated her, if he yelled back at her? I didn’t think anyone could not when she talked to them like I had heard her talking to him.

Stan crossed the street and looked for Jenny’s car in the parking lot, the car he bought her of course. Not that he had wanted to buy her a Lexus but she had thrown a huge fit in the dealer’s lot that he figured it was just better to buy it for her. She got the payments in the divorce so it worked out ok in the end. He shook his head as Jenny pulled up, Stan waved at Sean and he smiled and waved back. After a minute of talking to Sean, she got out and Sean ran over to him he bent down to pick him up grateful to see him, it had been over two weeks and boy it felt good to get a hug from him. “Nice of you to come” she said sarcastically. He nodded, “Well the Doctor asked me to come she called me yesterday and said she would prefer I be here as well.” He didn’t want to get the Doctor in trouble, but he figured this would distract her so he had a few minutes so he can catch up to Sean. Besides it was no secret that the Doctor was no fan of hers. She was going to boil inside about that statement for at least 5 minutes and he knew that, she hated that she had no friends, she had only told him that once in the beginning of the relationship, she said she was misunderstood. From what he can see she isn’t misunderstood she is clearly not nice and that is why she has no friends. “Sean, this man is very mean be very careful with him do you understand me? I have warned you about him before.” She leaned over to Sean’s face and said this so sweetly to him that it almost sounded true, so much so that Stan almost believed her. Sean looked at Stan and then Jenny and started to cry. She huffed “See what you do to your son?” And stormed into the office. Stan hugged Sean and smiled, “You and I know that isn’t true don’t we?” Sean stopped crying and nodded rubbed his eyes. “You have nothing to worry about little man, I won’t hurt you ok?” Stan whispered in Sean’s ear. Sean smiled and snuggled up to his neck as they walked in. In the waiting room the receptionist looked at Stan, “Good to see you here too Mr. Taylor. Always a pleasure. Hello there Sean.” She smiled at Sean and he sat down across from Jenny, “Let me guess you are screwing her?” she hissed at him, Stan ignored her and kept talking to Sean and the receptionist closed the glass hard so that Jenny knew she heard her. It was always interesting when he was out with Jenny, never a dull moment with her. The woman looked at Stan smiled and pointed to her wedding ring, he winked at her. Everyone in town had the knowledge of what she was and how she was. The Pediatrician was glad to see Stan there and it showed, Jenny could see it so that angered her more and made the appointment more difficult for the doctor who really directed all the talk right to Stan. He was a little underweight and seemed a little malnourished so she suggested a vitamin and a high protein diet to help him. Of course Jenny had words to say about this that the doctor told her that she just wanted to see him gain 3-5lbs in three weeks and we will discuss further than and she would have the nurse come in and draw some blood. Sean held on to Stan for dear life when the nurse came in which of course just made her sulk more in the corner as she told Sean how bad he was. Even the nurse told her she was making this hard for Sean. She huffed about it and stood in silence until they were done. She stormed out and grabbed Sean’s hand from Stan and gave him a death stare as she left him standing alone to pay the co-pay. The receptionist smiled at him and took his cash. She shook her head as she handed him a receipt. “You’re a patient man. You make it so much easier on us when you are here so thank you for coming.” He smirked back, “Or crazy, however you need to word it.” She nodded and laughed as he walked out to his car where she was already gone. She was just insane, why was he underweight, and malnourished? He decided to go pick up the vitamins and mail them to her so she had them for him, less complaining by her if he just did it without speaking to her.

A few weeks had passed since I had seen Jenny yelling outside the daycare, I tried every day to avoid the possibility of seeing her, some days I would be so close that we would be leaving has she would be pulling in. There was one time at the nail salon she walked in as I was leaving, she glared at me and looked me up and down. I could feel the ice forming around her mouth as she sighed a very dramatic sigh directed at me. Even though the weather was getting warmer, every time I saw her or drove past her there was a blast of artic air it felt like coming through the open car windows. I did find out why I was suddenly seeing her everywhere, apparently she had changed jobs and was now working in town whereas before she worked outside of town and used a different day care. At least that explained it a bit, I just couldn’t understand how it was all of sudden she was in my life.

One Monday night Becky and I were at the store getting dinner and talking, as we walked through the store together, I noticed Stan at the deli counter, I nudged Becky and whispered "That's Stan!" she did a double take. “You mean that is who was married to Jenny?” she whispered, I nodded at her smiling. As we continued to walk he turned around and looked right at me, smiled and nodded at me "Hey there, long time no see" he said with a friendly smile, what the hell was he doing with that nasty woman I thought to myself? His smile alone told me that he was a nice person, his eyes had this warmness to them that really made you feel at ease when you talked to him. I nodded, "Hi, how are you?" he looked over at Ricky, "Great thank you, and who is this guy?" he looked at Becky and Ricky. "I'm Becky and this is Abby's son Ricky" She said as she gave him a little tickle under the arm. “I think that he is in day care with your son, just in a different room.” I said looking at Ricky instead of at him. I could feel my cheeks were hot so I knew I was blushing and I didn’t know why. “Wow that is pretty cool. Maybe sometime we can go to the playground with them.” I nodded “Sure sounds good” I said as the deli girl handed him his meats and he turned back to us, "Well, don’t let me keep you from shopping nice to meet all of you." he gave a slight nod of the head at me and he waved as he walked away. He shook his head at himself, playground? What the hell was that maybe he could bring the juice boxes and crackers for them too? Obviously he had lost his charm since being with Jenny he thought to himself, talking to a lady used to be so easy, and his stomach was in knots from the moment he saw her, what the hell was that about? Jenny had really sucked the man right out of him whether or not that was her intention he let it be and he let her win. His therapist told him that, said he needed to realize she was your standard abuser that would try to make him feel bad about himself which she did and it worked even though they weren’t together anymore. His confidence was shot and he didn’t like that very much. She would try to control him and her child as long as she can because that is who she is and without her going for help it would probably never change. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he left the store, he reached down and saw it was her, shook his head and wondered if he should answer.

"Um, wow. That is one tall drink of water." Becky said as she watched him walk away, giving me the sideways glance as the deli worker watched us watch Stan walk away. Ricky then yelled "Drink of water for Bebe" at the top of his lungs causing us to laugh out loud and head in the other direction. "Well, I didn't expect that to be married to her that is for sure." Becky said "I know Right? When I heard Jenny talking to him outside the daycare and she was so mean to him, I wonder how he talks to her when she does that. Can you imagine how pissed off she would be if we met at the playground with the kids?” We laughed as I took the chicken out of the case and we went to the cash registers. As we headed to our cars together and saw him sitting in his very nice white BMW SUV, he had his head in his hands and cell to his ear, we stood watching for a second and saw him wipe his eyes as though he was crying. Wishing we could hear we walked slowly by the car but the windows were closed. He looked very sad, Becky and I just looked at each other as we got into our cars. “Bye-bye Bebe” Ricky yelled and waved as we drove away. As I drove home, my mind kept going back to how sad and lonely he looked, I wondered who he was talking to that would make a man look that upset?

“Jenny honestly, do you understand that if you are telling me the truth that Sean really isn’t my son, that would mean that all the child support I have paid you, all the medical bills I paid for you would have to pay me back? Did that occur to you before you lied in the court?” Tears filled his eyes at the thought of this and wondered if she was just trying to get a rise out of him or if it was true. He spoke in a calm voice, opposite of her as she sat there yelling at the top of her lungs. It made her angrier that he never yelled back at her, but he wasn’t the yelling type. He had no idea if that was true but her goal is to hurt me, and the only way to hurt her is to threaten money. He has learned that over the time they have been together. She demands money, feels she deserves Stan’s money, when he says no she gets madder. She kept yelling, “You are not his father, and the abuse you do to my son is disgusting, you are a horrible man.” She didn’t hear what he said she was too caught up in her rant to even care. He sat there and let her go on. He didn’t owe her anything anymore. He was so used to her controlling him and forcing him to listen to her, he was thinking he was back on the couch at the house with her in front of him almost blocking him from leaving the couch yelling at him at the top of her lungs while he just would sit there and looking out the window begging for a lightning strike in her exact spot. For someone so hateful that didn’t seem like a big stretch of the imagination, unfortunately it never happened. There were many nights he would come home and she would have made sure there was no dinner left over for him and he would have to eat a sandwich or something he could find in the cupboard, she wasn’t a good grocery shopper and usually there was nothing in the house for him to eat, this was done on purpose so he would try to eat before he came home or pick something up on the way. He really did miss home cooked meals like his mom used to make. Jenny would do whatever she could to make his life hard, make him feel like a loser and she was pretty good at it actually. She would have him thinking the worst about himself although he never let on to her that he believed her, that would make it worse he figured. He snapped back to her yelling at him on the phone and this time, he could get away for the moment, before he hung up he said so she could hear, “You lost the privilege of knowing what I do when I do and who I do it with you no longer control me Jenny.” With a sigh he hung up. He knew she heard him and he knew that pissed her off. That made him feel a little bit better. Than he called John to tell him and see what he thought about her saying Sean wasn’t his, John was a great attorney a little expensive but with the way she was he was worth every penny he has paid so far. John wasn’t at his office at this time of night so he left a short voicemail asking for a call back when he got in the next day to talk about yet another phone call. He just needed to make her stop, and stop telling her son all these lies about him, to stop treating both him and his son like this. That child must be so confused he thought to himself, he must wonder why she says one thing and another thing happens when he is with him on the few occasions he gets him. There has to be a law on this sort of treatment, he had to talk to John about this he had to make it stop before she hurt his son anymore. Stan’s mind was racing from subject to subject as he started to drive off. The worst part is he knew that Sean heard everything she ever said to him and every time that she would yell like she did on the phone he knew she would do that right in front of Sean just to be spiteful. She doesn’t realize that this hurt Sean more than it hurt him. His pain that he had now was the damage that was done to his son, he had such guilt over what Sean goes through. What Sean must think of when she is yelling how scared was he? His heart was breaking in two at the thought of Sean sitting there and watching and listening to her crazy rants listening to her crazy words that came flying out of her mouth. It was one thing to do it to him, but to a child? Why doesn’t she see the harm that this does to him?

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